Hot Topics:

Boulder DA: Release of Ramsey documents would be "breach of promise" to grand jury

By Mitchell Byars, Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
10/08/2013 11:31:53 AM MDT

Updated:
10/08/2013 01:00:09 PM MDT

The grand jury in the JonBenet Ramsey case, seen in this file photo, leaves the Boulder County Justice Center. More than a year after the case went to the grand jury, then-District Attorney Alex Hunter announced that the grand jury investigation had come to an end and that no charges would be filed due to a lack of evidence. Earlier this year, the Camera learned the grand jury had voted to indict JonBenet's parents, but Hunter refused to sign the indictment and prosecute John and Patsy Ramsey.
(Camera file photo)

JonBenet Ramsey (Camera file photo)

The Boulder District Attorney's Office filed a response today to a lawsuit filed by a Daily Camera reporter and a press advocacy group, saying the release of the indictment secretly voted on by the JonBenet Ramsey grand jury in 1999 would be a "breach of promise" to the jurors.

Camera reporter Charlie Brennan and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed the lawsuit in September in Boulder District Court, citing the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act in an effort to compel Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett to release the indictment.

The Camera reported earlier this year that the grand jury voted to indict the slain 6-year-old's parents on charges of child abuse resulting in death, but that then-District Attorney Alex Hunter refused to sign the document and prosecute the Ramseys.

Chief Trial Deputy Sean Finn -- who is the custodian of records for the Boulder DA's Office -- issued a response to the court arguing that grand jury proceedings should remain secret even in a case that has gotten as much media scrutiny as the Ramseys'.

"The plaintiffs interest in the documents they have requested is understandable; few cases have captured the interest of Coloradans, and people throughout the world, like the death of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey," Finn wrote. "But the issue raised by the plaintiff's request and lawsuit are more important than any one case. Every grand juror, and every witness who appears before a grand jury, takes an oath of secrecy, and every witness and grand juror is promised that those involved in the process will honor that oath.

"For this defendant to accede to plaintiff's request and hand over documents from this grand jury would be a breach of promise to the hundreds of citizens serving on grand juries across Colorado, and would undermine the assurances given to grand jurors and witnesses who will be promised secrecy in the future."

In the lawsuit, Brennan and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press argued that the indictment is a criminal justice record that reflects an official action by the grand jury. They also said the release of the documents would serve the public interest in providing government transparency.

But Finn wrote that despite the media interest, it was still in the best interest of the public that the secrecy of the grand jury's proceedings be upheld.

"The fact that our laws require secrecy in this context is understandably frustrating to the media and others," Finn wrote. "Nevertheless, as stated by a court faced with a similar question, 'it is such laws that allow us to live in a structured society, in a government of laws and not individuals.' "

The Camera is not a plaintiff in the complaint, but does support the lawsuit.

A hearing in the case is set for Friday, with retired Weld County Judge Robert Lowenbach presiding.

Garnett previously rejected two requests by the Camera and Brennan seeking the release of the indictment under the Colorado Open Records Act.

In 2010, Brennan worked for Garnett as communications director on Garnett's campaign for Colorado attorney general.

Six-year-old JonBenet was found dead Dec. 26, 1996, in the basement of her family's home, 755 15th St., several hours after Patsy Ramsey called 911 to say her daughter was missing and there was a ransom note.

In October 1999, more than a year after the case went to a grand jury, then-D.A. Hunter announced that the grand jury investigation had come to an end and that no charges would be filed due to a lack of evidence.

But in January of this year, Brennan reported in the Camera that members of the grand jury confirmed they voted to indict both John and Patsy Ramsey on charges of child abuse resulting in death and that Hunter refused to sign the indictment, believing he could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Missy Franklin, Jenny Simpson, Adeline Gray and three other Colorado women could be big players at the 2016 Rio OlympicsWhen people ask Missy Franklin for her thoughts about the Summer Olympics that will begin a year from Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, she hangs a warning label on her answer.